Rose Hanako Fujikawa Uyematsu

March 2, 1935 – June 3, 2020

UYEMATSU, ROSE HANAKO FUJIKAWA passed away on June 3rd, 2020 at her home in Anaheim Hills, California.
Rose was born on March 2nd, 1935 in Madera, California to parents, father Kiyozuchi and mother Yaye Kamimura Fujikawa. In the early 1900s, her parents immigrated to the United States from Yamaguchi Iwakuni, Japan and settled in Madera where they worked as farm laborers. Rose was the youngest of 11 children. The family moved from Madera to Wilmington, California when Rose was one year old. The Family operated a farm and sold their produce from their vegetable stand on San Pedro Street.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 by the Empire of Japan, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. With the signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942 forced 120,000 Japanese Ancestry, 2/3 American born citizens out of the west coasts of Washington, Oregon, California, and parts of Arizona and first placed into one of the 15 assembly centers until the 10 concentration camps. The 10 concentration camps were all located inland in desolates parts of the United States. Rose’s family were incarcerated at Jerome Concentration Camp, and eventually moved to the Tule Lake Concentration Camp. The assembly center and concentration camps had guard towers manned by army soldier with machine gun and rifle. When war with Japan was coming to an end, Rose’s family relocated to Brigham City, Utah where Rose attended Central Grammar School and graduated from Box Elder High School. She then enrolled at Henager Secretarial College in Salt Lake City and graduated in 1954. She was hired as a secretary by the State of California Employment/Disability Department. Rose met and married Norio Uyematsu on April 13, 1957 who was also from Brigham City, Utah. With the birth of 3 boys, she retired from the State of California to raise the family.

Once the boys were older, she went back to work as a secretary for Autonetics of North America Aviation where she retired after 20 years of service and then worked for the Professional Golfers Association of Southern California where she retired in 1995. Rose was actively involved with the Kazuo Masuda Memorial Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3670, South-East Youth Organization, Yamaguchi Kenjinkai, and many other civic organizations.

Rose is survived by her husband, Norio and her three boys, Michael, Ronald, and Thomas, along with eleven grandchildren, two great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her mother, Yaye, father, Kiyozuchi, sisters, Helen Haruko Masaki, Doris Hisako Okamura, June Miyako Wada, Edith Yaeko Yamasaki, Martha Masako Hirai, Jeanne Toyoko Nagao, and brothers, Sam Susumu Fujikawa, George Jojo Fujikawa, Frank Yoshio Fujikawa, and Harry Kiyoto Fujikawa.

Celebration of Life for Rose will be conducted at a later date.